The Monsters of Mewni: An Anthology of an ancient history: Volume 1
by Noelle la Marie
Summary: Jacob and Willgard Junebug, Historians, Archeologists, and brothers, are proud to present: The Monsters of Mewni series. Telling the story of an ancient people, who have throughout the ages managed to survive both harsh environments and even harsher repression from their Mewmen peers. This book in it's entirety tells but a part of their story, that of myths and early civilization.
1. Introduction

**The Monsters of Mewni:**

An Anthology of an ancient history

Volume 1

As told by Jacob Cupcake Junebug, and Willgard 'Threetusk' Junebug,

A Mewmen and Monster respectively.

Introduction:

Mewni is a land of great wealth, great joy, and at times great sorrow; a land that is home to a rich history and a variety of colorful cultures. As of the time of this writing, this glorious land has reached a golden age of growth and tolerance among it's people, spearheaded by the wise rule of Queen Star Butterfly of the Butterfly kingdom, whose fairness and diplomacy has bridged a gap long thought impossible to even fathom. Yet now more then ever, our peoples face a long and difficult road towards true unity, as the reluctance of both sides is evident. Still it is clear that even with the possible failure of this venture, our views of each other have begun to shift and will continue to change for years to come.

It is during this time that we, the brothers Junebug, have felt it necessary to document a history that has been orally passed down through the generations, but has never gone beyond the swamp hut of a salamander hatchery, nor the nest of a Ursanare birth cave. Though the knowledge of Mewni's history is relatively well known and well documented, much of the time before Mewmen influence has been lost through out the ages. It is therefore in the interest of this brand new age of acceptance, that the story of the Monsters be told.

Before our book begins proper however, it's important to distinguish what we mean when we call these creatures "Monsters." The word "Monster" as we know it in Mewni, originates from the ancient Mewnien language, when the first Mewmen settlers came from the west to colonize. It is said that upon arriving they could see glowing eyes watching them from the darkness, and strange deformed animals coming out of the forest before quickly ducking back in.

The Mewmens at the time, were a group of recently liberated slaves who had escaped the confines of their previous civilization; an empire whose legacy is now lost from living memory. Those that survived long enough to find their way to Mewni were far from well educated nor did they have any real insight of the land they had founded. Some theorists say that these early people believed the creatures to be the work of evil magic whose corruption had soaked into the local animal population, thus making them savage. This information lines up with the earliest records found on the settlers, and is supported by the name "Monsters" which is a variation of the word "Momounoonstars" which is believed to mean "sick animal" or "corrupted animal" in ancient Mewmen.

But to simply file all of these creatures under the false category of 'Monster' is a huge oversight, especially considering that the unification of the Monster people was only put into place some 50 years before the arrival of the Mewmen settlers. As you will find in this book, there were at least three separate known attempts to create a single empire for the Monster people, the fourth and last being what was considered by most Mewmens to be the ruling body of the population, though admittedly revered by its people to be an empty husk of an empire.

The truth is that these stories have more then one telling and more then one origin. Sometimes the legendary Jinadara of the Sand was a Serpian woman, and sometimes a Scarab. Many of the earlier myths and stories are altered to fit the purpose of who ever is telling them. For our purposes we will be following the most know versions of these tales as well as whatever we find to be the most accurate source from the region they were most closely based in.

As we move forward towards the time of Mewmen discovery, our focus will shift from myths and fables to factual recorded accounts in ancient history. Like myths, there are several different variations of historical events depending on whose experienced and recorded them. We will do our best to represent all sides of each account to see the overall bigger picture to each individual event, and the effect they had on Monster kind over the years.

Now, despite the years of conflict between the Mewmens first arrival and today, we were able to pull together a significant amount of material and research in preparation for this book; certainly more then we ever thought we could uncover during initial planning. With that being said, much of our findings have been limited to only the most important aspects of the mythos and history. Individual legends and interesting but small footnotes will have to be saved for another anthology at a later date, hopefully in the wake of this books success.

And so, on behalf of the citizens of Mewni, the good Queen Star Butterfly, and all of the Monsters and Mewmens who were kind enough to contribute to this project, the brothers Junebug are happy to present to you: The Monsters of Mewni: An Anthology of an ancient history.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Creation, The birth of Mora the last child of all

Long ago, in a time before life and death, there was a loving couple that lived at the edge of heaven. They had many names, but were commonly known as Neb and Vse. After a long eternity of being together, Neb and Vse had become madly in love with each other, and they were married in a ceremony that conceived an infinities worth of children to bare witness to it; Some such children were Bes the red fire giant, Koonsa the unicorn with a hundred golden hooves, Kukla the ambitious fairy of sorcery, and Ditya who took the form of a large blue egg covered in gray and green splotches.

The wedding lasted for 20 days and the reception for more then 300 years. When it had finally ended, all of the children retired to their parent's home where they would live together for many years, and there was never a happier family in all of existence nor ever again. It was a life with no pain, no sadness or hurt, no jealousy or anger, just love; and there was no greater love then that between Ditya and her older sister Kukla. All through out the house, wherever Kukla went she would always be caring the large blue egg with gray and green splotches in her arms. Neb and Vse would look on with pride, as Kukla sat talking and cuddling Ditya for hours in their garden. Ditya for her part never complained about anything that Kukla did with her; in fact in her eyes Kukla could do no wrong.

Sometimes, when Vse would ask its children, "What would you like to make?" Kukla would say, "A waterfall, with sparkles in the water, and creatures inside that also sparkle in the water! I want to make a golden fruit tree that everyone can eat from and enjoy! I want to make a sky that changes colors and a ground that's always soft and warm! I want to make hills and valleys that go on for miles and miles, and mountains that reach all the way up to the heavens! I want to make creatures that are all friends together, and I want Ditya and I to live with them and be merry!"

"I want that too!" said Ditya, her egg body wiggling in excitement.

"I want to be like you father Vse! I want to have good children who I can love!"

"Me too!" cried Ditya, happiness and warmth filling her shell, "I want to have children too! I want to be with Kukla!"

Kukla hugged and nuzzled her sister. Feeling the radiant happiness of his two children, Vse smiled and said, "Someday you will both have children. You will love them just as much as we love you, and just as much as you love each other."

For many life times, the children were content to stay by their parent's side in heavenly bliss, but time has a way about it that makes things change, and unbeknownst to Vse and Neb, Kukla had begun to doubt the manner of which things were. She yearned for change and a way to rise above her parents, so she convinced several of her brothers and sisters to hatch a plan with her to rule over heaven.

Ditya heard of their plans for destruction, and sought to warn Vse and Neb of their daughter's betrayal, but one of her brothers that had sided with Kukla saw this coming and locked her up in one of the rooms of the house. Ditya had no legs so she could not move, and she had no arms so she could not escape. All she could do was cry out for help, hoping her parents would come for her, but she was so far inside the house that not even her former sister could hear her screams.

That very night, Kukla put her plan into effect. She used one of her siblings to lure Vse away from the bed he shared with Neb, and had him tied and tortured while she and the others dealt with Neb. They sprang on him while he slept and tied his arms and legs to the bed. They then sliced off his arms followed by his legs and his member. Finally they ripped open his rib cage and beheld the spectacle that lay before them. Darkness there, complete blackness, a perfect plain of emptiness. The children had found what they were searching for; one by one they climbed into the body of Neb and started creating fantastical things never dreamed before by god or mortal.

By the time Vse had been released from his chains it was far too late, the house that was once filled with songs and laughter was now left empty and abandoned; it's body falling into disrepair with dirt filling up beneath the floorboards. Vse immediately searched for his love but only had to go as far as his own bedroom to see what had happened. He saw the body of his Neb lying dead and rotten while his former children laughed and played inside the corpse. Vse took a mere moment to process this before his body lit up in a cosmic rage.

But before he could exact his revenge, his ears happened upon a small far off voice. Only one person remained within the near broken house, it was the only person who couldn't leave. Dityas shell was almost completely covered in dust now, her once blue grayish body now had a light brown coating along with the rest of the room she had been left in. Vse hastened towards the room, stopping at nothing as he opened the door and stared at his lost child.

Ditya cried tears of happiness at seeing him, her prayers finally answered.

"Father Vse!" She cried.

"Oh father, I thought I would never behold your face again! Is all well? Oh, please don't be angry with them father, you had always told us to be kind to those who had wronged us. Perhaps if you and father Neb…"

Ditya said no more as her father walked towards her and held her at arms length away from himself. His eyes spoke nothing of the love they had held so many times before, now they bore coldly into her form to the point of madness.

Then she felt it. A searing pain that ruptured from the hands that held her, covering her entire body in a sensation of poisonous uncovered knives. No person in all the known realms could ever hope to hear her piteous cries. Her mind drew a blank as she suffered with silent screams, until the pain reached into her head. A lesser creature would have surly died from the images that Ditya had witnessed at that very moment. Memories of years long past, of things beyond her comprehension suddenly exploding within her, and when it was all over neither her nor her father spoke as he carried her towards his bed room, and dropped her into the body of Neb. He then sewed the corpse shut and left his children inside of the void that was once his beloved, baring them from ever entering heaven again.

Down, down, down, the blue egg dropped into the blackness, passing by newly born creations and the sounds of lustful delight from the once pure beings, now corrupted by the power they had stolen.

Ditya looked at her brothers and sisters with disgust and hatred. They did not even notice her among them; they did not even care that, because of them, none of them would ever be able to go back into heaven. She saw Kukla with her children, her disgusting, and sad little children that laughed and sang around her like they once did for their parents, for father Neb.

Ditya was dying; Her body was falling apart even as she fell. Bits of eggshells scattered all around the nothing, glowing in a trillion different pieces across the new creations and therefore alerting the others of her presence. But their sister was long gone, and in her place was her first daughter, whose existence was given to her by Vse himself. She was far bigger then any of his other children, a long tailed serpent with impenetrable skin and talons that could cut thru the fabric of reality itself, whose eyes burned with the fires of hell and whose breath could scorch the flesh of any immortal being, regardless of power.

She was Mora, the drake of life and death, the bringer of justice, and the mother of all Monsters. She understood the task for which she had been born, as well as the suffering that had created her.

The former pure ones could only look on in horror as Mora descended upon their children, devouring and burning their flesh to ash in a never-ending crusade for vengeance. The fallen tried to stop her, but they proved no match for Mora's divine brilliance, as the mere sight of her caused the unworthy sinners to go blind. One by one, Mora took what had been created and destroyed it, forever purging their filth from existence.

With the diseased creatures dead, Mora turned her attention to her blind Aunts and Uncles, but before she could finish her work, she was reminded of her mother and all the love and caring that had come before her. Despite everything that had happened, Mora realized that she could not kill her family, for that was the original crime of the fallen, and therefore life's greatest sin.

Not willing to repeat the past, Mora instead fled to the deepest reaches of the void. The un-pure ones regained their eyesight and tried in vain to look for the serpent drake, but they were never to find Mora again.

She flew for more then 5000 years before deciding that she was far enough away from the others to be safe. Now she could be alone.

Mora stayed still for a long while, just taking in the silence of the nothing. Despite her haste in escaping, she managed to grab a few pieces of her mother's shell to keep in memory. She placed the largest piece in front of her and crushed all the other pieces to put around it. Many of the eggshells still had dust and dirt on them, so she cleaned them off and rolled the remaining dirt into little balls, placing them among her collogue of shells. So far everything looked very good, she was almost done when she figured that it was still missing something.

Mora looked at her body and took from it a single scale, which she had crushed into a fine powder. Next, she took her sharp claws and tore into the flesh of her arm, drawing blood. Mixing the powder and the blood together, she made a thick doughy substance and began to roll it into a compact ball before bringing it up to her lips and blowing lightly on it's surface, hardening it instantly.

She placed the small ball in her masterpiece and took to admiring its beauty. It was the very last piece of her creation and it was perfect. Without a moment's hesitation, Mora shrunk down to her creation, determined to live out the rest of her days in its holy embrace.

Yes, this was good. This would be her new home. Upon the plane made from her flesh would she birth her children, and they would live in happiness for all time. They would all be friends together and Mora would live with them and be merry. So it was written and so it would be, in the land known as Mewni.


	3. Chapter 1: Notes

**Notes #1:**

Understanding Mora and the creation of the universe

The story of Vse, Neb, Ditya and Mora is one of the most universally known tales told throughout Monster society, and yet that truth is becoming less and less for every new generation. You'll remember in our introductory chapter that we labeled these tales under a mythos, that's because those who might have followed them in the past now consider these stories to be myths in the present. It is our understanding that before Mewmen arrival, religions dedicated to Mora and her notable children were quite prominent and influential all across Mewni. When the Mewmen kingdoms came to power however, Monster traditions fell to the wayside in favor of more combat based societies, efficient in survival tactics necessary for inhabiting regions where Mewmens could be avoided such as The Forest of Certain Death and others. As a result, the belief in Mora and the other deities of the universe is little to none on the modern Monster, yet the story of Mewnis creation can still be found, deeply rooted in the landscape and architect of it's ancient people. In some remote communities, those few who still believe in the old ways pass their teachings on to their children, in this way the tradition still persists in modern day even if in small amounts.

Early Mewmen accounts tell of many instances of observed Monster culture, including the worship of the various Monster gods. One of the more interesting stories pertaining to Mora worship comes from the account of an anonymous farmer who was supposedly part of the first generation of Mewmen settlers to be born on Mewni. His story is documented in the official History of Mewni book series from 4th edition onwards, while the original source is currently held in the Firefly library historical achieves. In one of the entries, the Mewmen describes an afternoon with his hunting party, while tracking a wild boar they stumble across a group of Monster cultists performing a ceremony.

"And der, into the tree line we sees the creatures walk toward the fase of the cliffs.

In der posesion bascts of fruts an' ugly statues carvd into rocs, a horror fild figure 's painted in reds and yelloes on the fase of the cliffs, no doubt with blood and piss from der dead.

We watch from the brush as dey led their yong to the alter, defromed smiles on der fases, I tod Emel et takin the yongin wold be easyer den the boar.

He say we com bach when the beasts wer gon an take the fruts.

He ot chewd out by the men when the food wer gon with the beasts."

The ritual that this passage describes is most likely one of the local yearly tributes to Mora. Unlike some of the other deities, whose holidays for worship happened only once a year, it was encouraged to make offerings to Mora regularly, and that only offerings made by hand could please her. This meant that art such as sculptures and paintings were acceptable as well as grown food but not meat, as the kill would have had to come from Mora herself. Mora, to the Monsters of old, was considered the all mother of Mewni; a divine benevolent being who brought them into life, and eventually led them into death. She was the bringer of justice to those who'd been wronged and the creator of guilt in the hearts of the wicked. Some believed she could turn invisible at a moments notice, and that she communicated by shape shifting her tale to appear less intimidating towards her subjects. The previous myth about her birth and the creation of the universe sets the groundwork for many of the moral values of the ancient Monster people, some of which are still influential to this day. The struggle between Vse, Ditya, and eventually Mora against the rest of their family is a cautionary tale about the division of family and the importance of remaining loyal to your kin in the face of change and danger; Likewise, Monster society has a very large emphasis on kinship and brotherhood.

To gather more information on this topic, we had the chance to interview long time monster expert, Yvgeny Bulgolyubov who has now been retired for almost 4 years to his estate in the Western Mewni Swamp lands, where he lives with his son Dimitri. While visiting, we were able to meet one of Bulgolyubovs daughters: Anastasia Bulgolyubov, who was able to further elaborate on the mindset of the ancient Monsters we were researching. She says:

"In the days of old, it was common for a warrior to purposely lose a battle if his family fought on the other side, as it was considered taboo for a Monster to go against their family, even if their beliefs and actions were seen as condemnable to others."

This mindset offered much in the way of close bonds between members of the same community, but it also lead to obvious problems regarding outsiders. Yvgeny went on to add that part of the reason why it was difficult to truly unite the Monster people under a single government was due to a lack of genuine desire to be associated with the other races. We found evidence of this in our research practically concerning an event called The Invasion of the Eagles (which will be explained in much more detail in it's own chapter), where trade between conquered cities and villages proved near impossible, especially between those who had had a previous history of conflict between them.

Of course, not every culture saw Mora in the same light or even recognized her as the true god of creation. During a visit to the Monster community of Buldur we received many differing opinions of the creation story from different types of Monsters, some of which held no mention of Mora or her children. One example, was the story of a group of plant Monsters known as the Plandai, who once resided near what is now the kingdom of Farrman. They believed that the world was a seed in the ground and that they were stalks of roots that would one day breach the surface of the sky and become mighty trees. They saw the other Monsters as parasites that would come to soil the seeds in the fertile ground unless driven away which they almost always were, without the Plandai ever having to leave the dirt. Unfortunately however, some years after the establishing of Farrman, the Plandai suffered a great drought that all but killed off most of the population. Those who survived did so by emerging from the ground in search of new water sources, an act that was considered forbidden by old Plandai law. Today you can still find very few Plandai either roaming the land or staying put in one plot of soil, as they still exist but are very rare to find on Mewni.

Other cultures that did recognize Mora as the creator did so in different ways and interpretations. Sometimes she was a loving mother figure to all creatures, other times she played favorites and renounced certain children who had become the enemy of who ever her chosen people were at the time. Depictions also varied from place to place, with every Monster seeing Mora in their own image while also using her image to enforce their own separate laws. Unfortunately, the true importance of Mora and her chosen children is far too expansive to be explained here in this chapter, though it is important to note that every Monster reacts to Mora differently. According to several written journals (taken from the Firefly library archives) In the past, successful travelers and merchants were able to move across Monster dense areas in relative safety thanks to their knowledge of Mora. One such merchant being one Maino Elderflower, who was able to traverse hostile monster territories from around 250 a.M., to his death in 282 a.M. In letters to his wife he describes the way in which he was able to make his fortune in Mewni with little resistance.

"Twas the morning I forced to leave you my beloved. My hired campaigns and I had hardly left the sights of her majesties palace when a foul odor assaulted our senses to near blindness. I was but a small child, traveling with my fathers' caravan, when last I encountered such a scent. My campaigns were equally disjointed and seemed to know my thoughts before I could voice them.

"Monsters," one said.

After thorough searching we came across the corpse of a particularly grotesque looking Mud Dweller with a Mewmen dagger firmly seethed into his chest. My love, it is my strongest wish that you are never forced to face such atrocities, for the stench is far more consuming on the living then on the dead.

After searching the body we continued our way till nightfall. Having found ourselves in the darkness of the Spiderbite forest, all was still and quiet, save for the chirps of the yellow silk spider hatchlings hidden in the brush. I was looking through our recently acquired loot when a halt was sounded from outside of my cart. The men were stopped by a group of them, carrying around their big clubs and demanding we pay a toll tax for safe passage. The beasts outnumbered us significantly, baring their teeth and stomping their feet as though they would kill us at any moment. I had stepped out of the carriage when they called, not realizing the key to my salvation was still clenched firmly in my fist; a crudely made amulet in the shape of a serpent with a ruby embedded firmly in the center. The object caught the attention of the creatures and a whisper broke out amongst them as their leader addressed me.

"Where did you get that?" he asked in a broken Mewnish, baring his frightening teeth in an attempt of intimidation. I lied and told him it was a gift, which in his small mindedness seemed to agree with. They reduced the price of passage and let us go without further incident, I asked one of my own to remember their faces so we might report the encounter when we reached the Spiderbite Kingdom.

I must say, this jewel though poorly crafted does gives off a certain air of eloquence. Perhaps its use will pay off further in the coming weeks. Not to worry my darling, I intend to shower you in far more exquisite jewels upon my return along with even more riches fit for the queen herself.

Too all I give my love, Maino Elderflower."

The medallion described in this text could refer to a commonly made trinket often used in worship of Mora called an Amulet of Mora, which was said to allow the mothers guidance to reach those who would wear it. From what few amulets we could find, each appears to be made from a wide range of materials such as stone, copper, and even pure gold, the common trend being a depiction of a horned dragon carrying a ruby with its tail, mouth, chest, or tongue. It's likely that Maino's success in trading across the dangerous terrain was due to a still prominent belief in Mora from the surrounding Monsters population at the time, who probably mistook his carrying an Amulet of Mora as being confirmation of his faith. This worked for many who could find these trinkets up until 290 a.M, 8 years after Elderflowers death where popularity of Mora began to wane due to a severe plague that swept the region and killed a majority of the monster population. As the writers and researchers of this book we would advise the reader against attempting such practices on their own.

Ditya, otherwise known as the star child, was the mother of Mora and the youngest daughter of the original deities of the universe. Sources vary on her relation to Mora as well as Vse and their final interaction together before Mora's creation. In the interpretation we used, Ditya took the form of a large blue egg that was sired by Vse and used as a tool for his revenge. In other versions she was a separate but equal being to Vse and Neb, who brought Mora into life only after Vse took her on as a second spouse. Interestingly enough, this version also tells of Ditya and Vse poking holes in the body of Neb to spy on Mora as she destroyed the families of the betrayers, alluding to her established creation of the stars.

No matter which version is referenced (because there are many), a common theme as far as Ditya is concerned is her motherhood of Mora and her relation to the stars. The Monsters of old didn't hold much prevalence with the concept of immortality, despite many a modern Septarian claiming to be such.

"Yes, there are those who can regenerate lost body parts as well as heal expectantly quick from otherwise fatal wounds," Says Yvgeny, sitting at a small table across from us and Ms. Anastasia, while Dimitri prepares a lunch. "Just as there are those who can live for a longer amount of time compared to others. But as any follower of Mora would tell you, the all mother is a being of both life and death. That very fact was proof enough for them that nothing lasts forever and that everything eventually dies," their deities were no exception. Without going too off topic, there is much to debate on whether or not Ditya is actually dead or alive, and indeed most would say that she is dead, but others would argue that part of her still lives even though her body is scattered amongst the cosmos. These theories both hold prevalence within the different regions of Mewni, with some even speculating Mora as a reincarnation of her mother.

Whichever the prescribed theory, the importance of Ditya in the larger mythos usually ends with the birth of Mora and the stars, which are seen more as a gift from Vse then from Ditya herself.

Vse, like Mora, is recognized as a creator deity, though he is commonly honored for his role in the afterlife and as the guardian of heaven more then anything based off his earlier work. To the ancient Monsters, death wasn't so much an end to life but merely a right of passage to another stage of life, similar to a child coming of age. It was believed that Mora, who was also a being of death, would allow souls to travel with her into heaven where Vse would test them on whether or not they were worthy enough to stay.

Sources vary on what this test actually implies, but unlike many other religions in Mewni that emphasized on a life well lived on the mortal plane having an effect on the life hereafter, it is made very clear within the Monster mythos that deeds committed in this world will have little influence on how the soul will live in the next. Alternatively, they give attention to matters of skill and durability acquired through life rather then moral standing, this leads many to speculate a sort of physical test, though again there likely isn't a true answer.

A warm thank you to the Bulgolyubov clan, the village of Baldur, and to the Firefly Library Historical Society for contributing to this story.


End file.
